Golf tee

ABSTRACT

A golf tee comprising parallel golf ball supporting fins extending from an elongated blade-like main body. The fins bend and flex with the rapid momentary expansion and compression of the golf ball due the impact from a golf club, thereby offering a clear and unimpeded exit channel for the golf ball. The elongated main body tapers to a point for easy insertion into the teeing ground and has large side surface areas for the clear display of logos and general indicia.

BACKGROUND

The sport of golf is well known and over many years has grown withinternational popularity. A sporting activity carried out byrecreational enthusiasts to professional golfers alike; golf has been aphysical and mental challenge since its debated creation in Scotlandaround 1456.

Golf has developed a huge industry shared by many companies andorganizations, each keen on marking their presence, leadership andexpertise in the sport. As such, the branding of equipment and theplacement of general indicia, logos and messages throughout the game ofgolf has become commonplace.

Golf involves playing a ball with a club from the teeing ground into thehole by a stroke or successive strokes in accordance with the Rules.

A round of golf typically involves 9 to 18 holes each with an allocatedteeing ground from which the golf ball is first struck over variousterrains and obstacles towards a hole. It is standard practice amongstmost golfers to use a golf tee to elevate the ball above the teeingground to assist the golfer in striking the golf ball cleanly andefficiently with a golf club. A typical golf tee will be made from woodor resilient polymeric materials and consists of a cylindrical stem,tapering to a spike for insertion into the ground. On the other end istypically a circular head with a concave cup or dish surface to supportthe golf ball. Such tees are readily available and still in wide use.

However, golfers are very much aware of the performance issuessurrounding all aspects of the game of golf, particularly where golfequipment is concerned. Over many years, there have been manyimprovements in the design and technology of golfing equipment in orderto enhance the performance of the golfer. Improving the performance of agolf tee is no exception and golf tees are now receiving more focus andattention by the golf industry as a means to improve the golfer's firstshot or “drive” from the teeing ground.

It can be demonstrated using high speed photography that when a golfball is struck by a golf club, the golf ball will compress at the pointof impact and rapidly expand outwards. This rapid distortion of the golfball upon a standard rigid golf tee can contribute toward many unwanteddynamics and inefficiencies in the golf drive.

As such, issues relating to golf tee friction and golf ball resistancehave been addressed in a variety of ways and solutions. Such solutionsinclude tees with bristles or brushes to replace the traditional concaveball supporting dish. When the golf ball distorts, the bristles disperseallowing the ball to exit the tee with minimal friction and impedance.However, such tees are less durable and over time tend to becomeunusable. Additionally, such bristle or brush-tipped tees requireseveral parts for manufacture, thereby increasing costs. As mentioned,the placement of logos and general indicia is also an important part ofgolf equipment. Such brush tees have no useful area upon which indiciacan be placed and clearly displayed.

Other solutions include tees which claim to reduce the points of contactand coefficient of friction between the golf ball and the golf tee.However, such tees are often made from rigid materials and thereby donot accommodate or address the issue of rapid golf ball expansion duringimpact. Often being designed around the traditional narrow cylindricalgolf tee, they again offer little or no useful surface area for adequatebranding or indicia.

Accordingly, there exists a need for a golf tee that reduces contactwith the golf ball and possesses a desirable level of flexibility anddispersion to accommodate the rapid expansion of the golf ball duringimpact. Furthermore, it would be desirable for such a tee to haveadequate surfaces and areas onto which can be placed and displayed avariety of logos, messages and general indicia.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The issues and problems as stated previously are herein addressed by thepresent invention as disclosed.

Accordingly one such embodiment of the present invention provides ameans of supporting the golf ball upon two blade-like fins to reduce thecontact area between the golf ball and the golf tee. The two fins arearranged parallel to each other thereby creating a clear and unimpededchannel for the golf ball to exit.

Such golf ball supporting fins are extensions of an elongated main bodywhich tapers into a single spike for easy insertion into the teeingground

The golf ball supporting fins are made from a flexible polymericmaterial allowing lateral dispersion to accommodate the rapid expansionof the golf ball during impact. When such lateral dispersion occurs, thegolf ball momentarily experiences reduced contact with the golf ballsupporting fins and is presented with a clear and unimpeded exitchannel. As such, resistance to the golf ball is substantially reducedand energy transferred into the golf drive is maximized.

Additionally, the polymeric material used in the manufacture of thepresent invention should be such that adequate strength and rigidity isretained to support a golf ball upon the fins in a stable manner and toalso allow for the spiked portion of the tee to be easily pressed intothe teeing ground.

An additional aspect of the present invention is that the golf ballsupporting fins and elongated main body have substantially wide surfaceareas upon which logos, messages and general indicia can be placed,through a variety of methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a golf tee according to a preferredembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 a shows a side view of a golf ball positioned upon a golf teeaccording to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 b shows a front view of a golf ball positioned upon a golf teeaccording to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 a shows a side view of a golf tee according to a preferredembodiment of the present invention at the moment when impact occursbetween the golf club and the golf ball.

FIG. 3 b shows a front view of a golf tee according to a preferredembodiment of the present invention at the moment when impact occursbetween the golf club and the golf ball.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a golf tee according to a preferredembodiment of the present invention illustrating the lateral dispersionof the golf ball supporting fins.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The golf tee of the present invention is now described in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments as illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. In fact many variations of the preferredembodiment are possible by those experienced in the art and as suchshould be considered as part of the fundamental approach and essence ofthe disclosed invention.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a golftee 2 in accordance with the present invention.

The golf tee 2 comprises two parallel golf ball supporting fins 6. Thefins 6 have upper edges 8 upon which a golf ball is placed. The upperedges 8 of the golf ball supporting fins 6 have curved features 24 withwhich to cradle the golf ball yet reduce contact with the same.

The golf ball supporting fins 6 have wide surface areas 10 upon whichcan be placed a variety of logos, messages and general indicia.

The golf ball supporting fins 6 converge and meet to form a junctionchannel 16 and a golf tee main body 34. The main body 34 tapers toward aground piercing spike point 12.

In order to reduce the volume of material of 34 to be inserted into theteeing ground, concavities 14 are provided. The concavities 14 reducethe volume of the tapered main body 34 and retain rigidity and stabilityfor insertion into the teeing ground through spike point 12.

The material used in the manufacture of the golf tee 2 would typicallybe polymeric in nature. An example of such a material would be aHigh-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) or a suitable Thermoplastic Elastomer(TPE) in order to provide adequate flexible properties within the golfball supporting fins 6 yet enough rigidity within the tapered body 34 toinsert into the teeing ground.

Referring now to FIG. 2 a, the golf tee 2 is shown in a side viewsupporting a golf ball 4 upon contact edges 8. The shapes of contactedges 8 are curved in a manner to support the golf ball 4 yet reducecontact around areas 24.

Still referring to FIG. 2 a, the golf tee 2 is shown inserted into theground 32 via the spiked point 12 up to a typical level on the taperedmain body part 34.

As can also be seen in FIG. 2 a the wide surface areas 10 of the golftee 2 are sufficient and visible to display a variety of logos, messagesand general indicia. A typical method by which to apply such indiciawould be through screen printing or tampon printing processes. It can beeasily appreciated that a variety of decorative methods could be appliedto surfaces 10 in order to create a broad range of looks or appearances.Examples of such alternative decorative methods include stickers,transfers, painting, stencils and laser etching processes.

Referring to FIG. 2 b, the front view of golf tee 2 shows a golf ball 4clearly supported by the two parallel fin structures 6 at contact edges8. The golf ball supporting structures 6 are spaced apart at a suitabledistance to support the golf ball 4 in a stable manner. The parallelgolf ball supporting fins 6 merge together to form a central channel 16.This front view is the desired alignment of the golf tee 2 where thecentral channel 16 presents a clear exit line for the golf ball 4towards a desired target.

As can be clearly seen in FIG. 2 a and FIG. 2 b, the golf tee 2 can bemanufactured as one single part, using an injection molding process forexample. This greatly simplifies the process of manufacture and theoverall cost of the part while maintaining the required functionality ofthe outlined features and advantages. In more advanced manufacturingtechniques the single part could be co-molded or composed of twomaterials each with different properties in order to achieve therequired flexibility of the golf ball supporting fins 6 and the requiredrigidity of the elongated main body 34 and spike 12.

Drawings FIG. 3 a and FIG. 3 b show side and front views respectively ofthe golf tee 2 during the moment of impact between a golf ball 18 and agolf club head 20. Referring to FIG. 3 a, the golf ball 18 is beingstruck by a golf club head 20. The golf club head 20 is rapidly movingin a direction 30 towards the ball. As the golf ball 18 is struck byclub face 40, the golf ball 18 distorts and compresses around area 26.This causes rapid expansion of the golf ball 18 at areas 28.

During the moment of impact, FIG. 3 b shows how the rapid expansion ofthe golf ball 18 around areas 28 causes the golf ball supporting fins 6to disperse outward in the lateral direction 22. The continued momentumof supporting fins 6 moving in the direction 22 momentarily reducescontact between the golf ball 18 and supporting fins 6 around the areas28. As can be seen in FIG. 4, when the golf ball supporting fins 6disperse outwards in direction 22, the central channel 16 becomes widerat the top, offering a clear unimpeded exit for the golf ball. Thisreduction in contact allows the exiting golf ball to continue along apath of trajectory and towards a target with maximum energy transfer andthus increased accuracy and distance.

1. A golf tee comprising: a) a plurality of golf ball supporting finelements; b) an elongated main body tapering to at least one spike forinserting said golf tee into a teeing ground; c) said golf ballsupporting fin elements being extensions of said elongated main body,wherein the base of said golf ball supporting fin elements connect toform a substantially open channel and are made from a flexible andresilient material able to accommodate the rapid momentary expansion ofsaid golf ball upon being struck by a golf club.
 2. A golf tee as ofclaim 1, wherein said golf ball supporting fin elements are parallel tothe target line of said golf ball.
 3. A golf tee as of claim 1, whereinupper edges of said parallel golf ball supporting fin elements arecurved or cut away to reduce surface area contact with said golf ball.4. A golf tee as of claim 1, wherein said elongated main body comprisesa cavity and an opening to accommodate the nesting of another said golftee.
 5. A golf tee as of claim 1, wherein said fin elements havesubstantially wide surfaces for convenient handling and the provision ofadequate surface areas for the display of logos and indicia.
 6. A golftee as of claim 1, wherein said elongated main body has a plurality oflongitudinal concavities to reduce the volume of material inserted intosaid teeing ground while maintaining rigidity.
 7. A golf tee as of claim1, wherein said main body and said fin elements come in a variety oflengths to provide a range of teeing heights above said teeing ground.